Adjustable doll eye and adjusting tools



y 1966 H. BRUDNEY 3,252,244

ADJUSTABLE DOLL EYE AND ADJUSTING TOOLS Filed Oct. 28, 1965 INVENTOR HARP) B/W/D/VE) ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,252,244 ADJUSTABLE DOLL EYE AND ADJUSTING TOOLS Harry Brudney, New York, N.Y., assignor to Dollac Division, Jacoby-Bender, Inc, Woodside, N.Y. Filed Oct. 28, 1963, Ser. No. 319,460 4 Claims. (Cl. 46-469) This invention relates to doll eyes, generally of the sleeping or movable type, which are pushed into molded cavities in vinyl doll heads and more particularly to means for adjusting a doll eye unit after it has been thrust into the molded cavity.

A problem exists in the assembly of doll eye units in doll heads due to the fact that when the unit is pushed into the cavity it does not locate itself in properly centered position with respect thereto. Thus, the eye unit aperture might be displaced up or down, or left or right, with respect to the opening of the cavity, unless great care is taken in aligning it and maintaining it aligned when being pushed into the cavity. This generally means that special jig and gripping members are required. Such special equipment, white effective for long production runs and therefore readily amortized, may be uneconomical for short runs because of the need for building the special holder members for each size of doll eye unit used in production.

The present invention eliminates the need for expensive equipment and is particularly desirable in small factories or for short runs, in that only .a hand tool is necessary, which tool is used in conjunction with a specially shaped aperture edge of the doll eye front shell component.

Briefly, the invention comprises the scalloping or notching of the edge of the aperture front shell member through which the eyeball is visible. This notching is a means which provides gripping points for a hand tool which can be applied to the eye unit in order to exert force thereon. Thus, when an eye has been thrust home in a vinyl head cavity in some otf-center position with respect to the front aperture of the cavity, the tool can be pressed against the front socket aperture edge in order to exert thrust in any direction to perfectly center the eye, the tool being applied only once to such edge within a notch thereof.

A detailed description of the invention now follows in conjunction with the appended drawing, in which:

- LFIG. 1 is a sectional elevation through the eye socket cavity -of a vinyl doll head with a doll unit in place been thrust into the head cavity but is not properly centered;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary elevation in section showing the tool applied to the aperture edge.

Referring to the drawing, the eye unit 10 comprises the usual conventional components, such as the eyeball 14, the front shell 18, the rear shell 22 in the interior of "Ice which is the usual weight support arm 25 and weight 28,

all of which are of a very well known construction.

As seen in FIG. 1, the eye has been disposed in the somewhat flexible cavity 32 of a vinyl doll head and is flexibly gripped therein. The edges 35 of the front opening of cavity 32 will be seen to come slightly forward of the aperture 38 of the front shell 18. The edge of the aperture 38 is scalloped or provided with notches, such as 42, as clearly seen on FIGS. 2 and 3. Thus, the lips 35 conceal the scalloped edge of the front shell when the eye unit is properly centered within the head cavity.

However, as seen in FIG. 6, the eye unit has been pushed into the cavity in an off-center position, that is, it is above center and off to one side. In a conventional eye the correction of this condition requires considerable tinkering with a tool applied at a succession of points around the edge of the front shell aperture. However, with the present invention a tool need be applied only at a single point (FIG. 7) and force exerted in a single direction, although severe conditions different force direc tions may be used. However, since the tool can act againstthe bottom and the sides of the notch, it will be apparent that application to a single selected notch will suffice. Thus, a tool such as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5,

having a handle 50 and a notched point 53, is utilized.

The tool notch 53 can be disposed in any notch 42a (FIG. 7) of the lower edge of the aperture in the front shell and by pressing in a proper direction determined by the eye unit position, it can be centered, as indicated by the dotted lines. However, the force may be in successive directions, as shown by the dashed arrows (also see FIG. 6), or along a curve, as shown by the dotted arrow, until the scalloped edges are concealed by the lips 35 when the eye is centered. It will be understood, from the above description, that any initial off-center condition of the eye unit can thus be corrected by pushing in the appropriate direction, ordirections, by means of the tool, the tip of the tool being small enough to pass between lips 35 and the eye unit Without causing damage. Thus, an eye unit may be centered as illustrated in FIG. 6 so that the optical axis which is off center at a will be brought to central position at b with respect to the cavity aperture 35 as indicated by the phantom line.

Having thus described the invention, it is realized that changes may be made without departing from the spirit thereof and, therefore, it is not desired that the invention be limited to the precise illustrations herein given, except as set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination of a doll head of flexible material having an eye unit receiving cavity with an open front, an eye unit secured in said cavity, said eye unit comprising a front shell having an aperture generally registering with the opening of said cavity, an eyeball in said front shell visible through said aperture and said opening, said aperture having an edge provided with notching means 'whereby a tool may be inserted through said cavity opening to engage said notching means for forcibly orienting said eye unit within said cavity in order to effect accurate positioning of said eye unit therein.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1, said notch-ing means comprising a series of spaced notches substantially around the periphery of said aperture, and the area of said aperture being larger than the area of said cavity opening so 3 that said periphery and the notches thereof are substantially concealed when said eye unit is accurately positioned.

3. A doll eye unit comprising a front shell having an aperture at a forward area thereof, an eyeball unit in said shell visible through said aperture, said aperture having edges provided with notches encompassing the visible portion of said eyeball and disposed to be engaged by an adjusting tool for effecting bodily movement of said unit in an eye socket.

4. A doll eye unit as set forth in claim 3, in combination with an eye socket of a flexible doll head, said eye socket having forward lips dis-posed to conceal the notched is predeterminedly centered therein.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Lantz 1-49.8 Pudlin 46165 Olson 46-167 X Romrner 46-464 Lee 46169 Bashover 46-169 Prupis 46171 Italy.

F. BARRY SHAY, Examiner. 

1. THE COMBINATON OF A DOLL HEAD OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL HAVING AN EYE UNIT RECEIVING WITH AN OPEN FRONT, AN EYE UNIT SECURED IN A CAVITY, SAID EYE UNIT COMPRISING A FRONT SHELL HAVING AN APERTURE GENERALLY REGISTERING WITH THE OPENING OF SAID CAVITY, AN EYEBALL IN SAID FRONT SHELL VISIBLE THROUGH SAID APERTURE AND SAID OPENING, SAID APERTURE HAVING AN EDGE PROVIDED WITH NOTCHING MEANS WHEREBY A TOOL MAY BE INSERTED THROUGH SAID CAVITY OPENING TO ENGAGE SAID NOTCHING MEANS FOR FORCIBLY ORIENTING SAID EYE UNIT WITHIN SAID CAVITY IN ORDER TO EFFECT ACCURATE POSITIONING OF SAID EYE UNIT THEREIN. 